Sex differences in visual performance and postural sway precede sex differences in visually induced motion sickness

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Human Physiology
• Vestibular System

Background:

• Motion sickness is more prevalent in women than men.
• Pre-existing differences in postural sway exist between sexes and between individuals susceptible to motion sickness.
• These postural sway differences are observable before exposure to motion stimuli.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between sex differences in postural sway and sex differences in visually induced motion sickness.
• To determine if pre-exposure postural sway characteristics predict motion sickness susceptibility differently between sexes.

Main Methods:

• Unperturbed standing body sway was measured in participants before exposure to visual motion stimuli.
• Participants performed various visual tasks during postural testing.
• Subsequent motion sickness incidence was recorded after visual motion stimuli exposure.

Main Results:

• Postural sway was significantly influenced by the visual tasks performed, aligning with existing literature.
• A significant three-way interaction was identified between visual tasks, sex, and subsequent motion sickness status.
• These findings indicate that sex-based variations in motion sickness may correlate with sex-based variations in postural balance control.

Conclusions:

• Sex differences in motion sickness susceptibility are potentially linked to sex-specific mechanisms of postural balance control.
• Visual tasks modulate postural sway, and this modulation interacts with sex and motion sickness proneness.
• Further research into the interplay of sex, vision, and balance could elucidate the etiology of motion sickness.